Retail sales inched up by just 0.1% in December, but the gain was enough to lift sales to a record level for 2011. It marked the largest annual increase in more than a decade, and confirms that the economy was strengthening as the year ended.

U.S. shoppers piled up the presents under their Christmas trees, but retailers were still a bit disappointed by their holiday haul. The Commerce Department's official tally shows what many suspected: Consumers took care of most of their shopping in November this year.

The nation's automakers ended 2010 on an upbeat note with most reporting higher sales for December. Consumers seemed to put concerns about the U.S. economy on hold and more than offset reduced demand by fleet customers, such as corporations and rental-car companies.

Ford, the nation's second-largest automaker, reported its year-over-year sales rose 7% in December, driven by strong demand from consumers and giving the company its best retail-sales month of 2010. The Dearborn, Mich.-based carmaker sold 190,976 vehicles in December, compared to 179,017 a year earlier.

The economy may be less robust than most Americans would like, but that didn't stop many of them from hitting car dealer showrooms in December, likely propelling auto sales in the final month of 2010 to 1.13 million units, the year's highest levels.